The numbers game: taking 10 calls to help five

Wellingtonion Michael Anastasiadis talks to TMM about day-to-day life as a mortgage adviser: running, reading the Bible, and the need to pick up the phone whenever it rings.

BY ERIC FRYKBERG

Michael Anastasiadis is a 45-year-old mortgage adviser from Newlands, Wellington – and the latest subject in TMM’s series of adviser profiles.

He quit the IRD seven years ago to work for Wellington firm Bozinoff Mortgages, which is part of the New Zealand Financial Services Group (NZFSG).

Based in Kilbirnie, the 26-yearold business is primarily a mortgage company - but does have an insurance component.

How did you get into the mortgage advice business?

Peter Bozinoff, the owner of Bozinoff Mortgages, is a family friend, and I’ve known him all my life.

He has been in my ear since I was little, asking me to be a mortgage adviser, but it wasn't till seven years ago that I finally agreed to quit my safe job at the Inland Revenue Department, where I had been looking after a team of 30 project managers.

Peter had asked me at least half a dozen times over the years to join the company, and it had built up a lot of momentum, and I thought if I didn’t make the move now, I never would. So I thought, “Let's just do it.”

How did you feel about your new job when you started?

Look, I'll be honest, it was pretty overwhelming at the beginning in terms of learning something new, and in terms of handling the volume of work.

There’s a set process for handling each mortgage application, but each application is unique, and that is always a challenge.

Also, moving from a safe, salaried job and becoming commission-onlythat was the toughest part.

How do you feel about it now, six years on?

Up till now, I’ve not really had time to reflect on it, the job has just been so busy, but what I like most is helping people reach their goals.

The people I help are mostly firsthome buyers, people who want to get their own property.

What I enjoy is helping them along the way, because house buying can be a very lonely experience.

We live in a country of five million property experts, but that just means you get five million different opinions on what to do.

Helping them navigate their way through this challenge is the most satisfying thing about the business. What do you like least about the business?

It never stops.

What is a typical day like?

I work from home, I start most mornings at about 8am, and I finish each day when the work is done.

Today, for example, I am speaking to you at about 5pm on a Friday. I had been hoping to stop work at about 3, but after I hang up I’ll still be working for another few hours.

Tomorrow, Saturday, I’ll be working at least four or five hours.

I try to keep Sundays free, but I used to go to Open Homes to help real estate agents out. I stopped doing that because I need to take a break from minutes.

I also try to pick them up a couple of times a week after school, and in the weekend, I try to take the kids to their sports activities. Sophia plays netball, Nikos plays soccer and my oldest plays golf.

Tell us about a favourite book, type of music, or TV show work at some stage and have some time with the family.

I’m a spiritual person - a Christianand the only thing I read is the Bible, along with all the written compliance and mortgage updates that I have to keep up with for my job.

That’s enough to make anyone not want to read again!

And you attend church?

Yes, I attend the Church of God –Ministry of Jesus Christ International. It got its roots in Colombia, which is where my wife is from.

Still, the job can sometimes seem 24/7.

If you had your time over, would you do this job again?

Oh my gosh, what a question. Look, it’s risk and reward, this job: you work the hours to get the rewards.

I suppose I am a victim of my own philosophy because I am always trying to help people find a way [to get a home]. Whenever I take phone calls from people, I’m giving them advice - but I’m not necessarily going to get paid for it each time.

Sometimes, though, people have got no-one else to ring.

Like I said, if you ask five different people in the office, you get five different answers. And the bank doesn't really give you much tailormade advice.

So people ring me and I try to help them.

Would I do the job again? You’ve asked me at the end of a very long week; it’s a hard one to answer.

What is a typical leisure activity for you?

I try to go for a run first thing in the morning, and I try to get home to spend some time with the kids before they go to school - even if it’s just ten

What do you do to make the job work well for you?

I feel that it’s not a question of work-life balance: the thing to do is make your life work seamlessly.

For example, the phone rings on a Friday afternoon or a Sunday afternoon because someone has taken my name, and because I am a good mortgage adviser.

So I have to take the call, otherwise the momentum [of a potential business transaction] is lost.

I have to answer the call, but I don't know if the deal is going to work or not. Until I’ve answered the phone, and until I’ve seen if I can qualify someone, to help them through their mortgage process, I just don't know.

It’s a numbers game: out of every ten calls I get from people, I might only be able to help five of them.

But I don't know which five I’ll be able to help until I’ve worked through the ten.

That’s the frustrating part, but it has to work seamlessly.

You are helping people buy the biggest asset of their life. You’re helping them make the biggest financial commitment they will ever make.

It does take a lot of time, but you just have to do it. And you have to make it work seamlessly. ✚